Reselling can feel overwhelming at first. This guide breaks the process into clear steps you can actually follow.

As your reselling business grows, tracking key metrics becomes essential. Metrics and Key Performance

Indicators (KPIs) give you concrete data on what’s working and what needs improvement. Instead of

guessing, you use numbers to guide decisions – whether that’s sourcing more of a hot product, bundling

items to raise order value, or cutting losses on slow sellers . Below are the most important metrics for a

reseller to monitor:

-

Gross Profit Margin. This is the percentage of revenue left after you subtract the cost of goods sold

(COGS) (just the item cost, not including other expenses) . For example, buying an item at $25

and selling at $60 gives a 58.3% gross margin . Strong resellers often aim for 50–80% margin

depending on category . You should calculate Gross Margin for each item and on average. If your

margin is consistently below industry benchmarks (around ~45% for general retail ), it may mean

you need to raise prices or find cheaper sources. Tracking this helps optimize pricing strategies.

-

Net Profit Margin. After accounting for all expenses (fees, shipping, platform costs, etc.), net margin

shows the overall health. Net margins in e-commerce typically run 5–15% . For instance, if you

make $150,000 in sales with $130,000 total costs, your net margin is ~13% . Monitoring net

margin helps spot hidden costs or inefficiencies (like too-high shipping costs or fees eating profit). If

net margins are too low, consider reducing overhead, increasing prices, or dropping unprofitable

lines.

-

Return on Investment (ROI). This metric tells you which products or categories give you the

biggest bang for your buck . ROI = (Net Profit / Investment Cost) × 100. For example, if you spend

$5,000 on a bulk purchase of toys and net $8,000 profit from selling them, the ROI is 160% .

Calculate ROI on each major purchase, and on categories overall. High ROI means you’ve identified

lucrative items; low ROI (or losses) flags products to avoid. By comparing ROIs, you can allocate

capital to the best-performing inventory .

-

Inventory Turnover Rate. This operational KPI measures how many times you sell and replace your

stock over a period, usually a year. A turnover of 6 means you sold your inventory six times over the

year. Higher turnover implies faster sales and better cash flow. U.S. retailers note that slow-moving

inventory costs billions annually, so you want to avoid overstock . For example, increasing turnover from 4 to 6 (by selling products faster) on a $20,000 inventory can significantly free up cash . Track how long items stay in inventory on average. If products sit unsold for months, consider

lowering prices or discontinuing them. Efficient inventory turnover reduces warehousing costs and

risk of obsolescence.

-

Average Order Value (AOV). AOV = total revenue / number of orders. The U.S. e-commerce average

was around $100 recently . Encourage a higher AOV through strategies like product bundling

(e.g., “Buy 3 for $X”), free shipping thresholds, or cross-selling. For example, offering free shipping

on orders over $75 might nudge customers to buy more. Even a small 10-20% AOV increase can

significantly boost revenue without needing more customers . Tracking AOV helps you gauge the

effectiveness of your promotions and upsells.

-

Order Fulfillment Time. Speedy shipping improves customer satisfaction. Track how long it takes on

average from order to shipment. Today’s buyers often expect 2-3 day delivery . If fulfillment is

slow, you may lose repeat business. Ideally, streamline your processes (or use fulfillment services) to

keep this metric low.

-

Sales and Revenue Trends. Look at overall sales growth month-over-month or seasonally. Identify

peaks and dips. Are certain times of year (back-to-school, holidays) consistently higher? Such trends

help with inventory planning. Track metrics like items sold per week or daily revenue to see if

growth is linear or if something is lagging.

-

Traffic and Conversion (if applicable). If you have your own website or shop, track visitors vs. sales.

What percentage of viewers actually buy? If conversion is low, you might improve product pages or

pricing. On marketplaces, monitor listing impressions vs. sales. If a product has lots of views but no

sales, pricing or photos may need tweaking.

-

Customer Metrics: If you advertise or market, track Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) and

Customer Lifetime Value (CLV). (CLV/CAC is important in scaling.) For example, if it costs $20 in ads

to acquire a buyer whose lifetime purchases are $100, your CLV:CAC ratio is 5:1, which is healthy .

Loyal repeat customers greatly boost profitability over time.

To effectively use these KPIs:

1.

Record everything. Keep detailed records of every purchase cost and sale price. Use spreadsheets

or software (QuickBooks, or specialized inventory tools) to automate calculations of margins and

turnover.

2.

Set benchmarks. Compare your metrics to industry averages or your own past performance. For

instance, if your gross margin is averaging 30%, but e-commerce peers are at 45% , dig into why:

maybe fees are too high or sourcing costs too much.

3.

Review regularly. Make it a habit to review key KPIs weekly or monthly. Identify top-selling items

and double down on those. For slow movers, decide to cut price or stop reordering. 4.

Use dashboards or analytics tools. Some apps integrate multiple marketplaces and provide

dashboards for profit, revenue, and best-sellers (see Vendoo Analytics ). Even basic charts in Excel

can highlight trends.

5.

Act on insights. If gross margins dip, perhaps switch suppliers. If inventory turnover is low, run

clearance sales. If AOV is stagnant, launch a bundle promotion. The data should drive your actions.

By regularly analyzing these metrics, you turn your reselling business into a data-driven enterprise. You’ll

know exactly which items, strategies, and platforms yield the highest profits, and which areas need work . This allows smarter scaling and sustainable growth, rather than guesswork.

If you want to keep leveling up, browse more guides on ResellerStartKit and use the calculators in our Tools section to sanity-check every deal.